Cat Travel Regulations: Check For Guidelines And Regulations Before Adopting A Feline From Foreign Country
Adopting a cat from outside the United States can be complicated and there may be several travel restrictions. Currently, the USDA APHIS Veterinary Services does not have any animal health requirements regarding importing a pet cat into the United States from a foreign country.
This does not, however, mean that there are not guidelines, requirements, and restrictions on bringing a cat into the United States from a foreign country. You will find some answers regarding importing a cat to the United States on the Centers for Disease Control and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service websites.
Each state may also have its own set of regulations regarding importing a cat to the United States. You can check the USDA APHIS website for information, if available, regarding each state. USDA APHIS recommends contacting the State Department of Agriculture or the State Veterinarian’s Office in your state of destination if no information can be found.
In addition to travel restrictions by the CDC, FWS and each individual state, airlines may also have additional requirements regarding cat travel. Contact your airline to find out what those requirements may be, if any.
As a pet owner it is your responsibility to make sure your pet meets all the entry requirements for the United States. Failure to comply with these requirements will only result in problems when your feline arrives in the United States.
If you have difficulty clarifying any of the entry requirements the USDA APHIS strongly recommends contacting the National Import Export Services by calling (301) 851-3300.
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Very informative post which I hope many cat owners read as not everyone is up to speed with rules and regulations regarding cats (or any animal) being brought into, or taken out of a country
I’ve never thought about adopting a cat from another country. People definitely need to be well informed of all the rules and regulations if they are thinking about it.
I am not a pet owner and this post has been insightful. I never knew you could adopt animals from another country. It is always good to be well-informed of the laws and regulations in your state as well as in another country.
I never thought about adopting from another country. We have so many homeless pets here in the US that we get all our pets from shelters near us.
It’s good to know things like this before trying to adopt a foreign pet. I have heard of people who fell in love with a pet overseas and had issues getting it back into their home country.
It never even enter my mind that we would adopt from another country, but these pointers are actually good to know no matter where you adopt.
Very informative article, I had no idea there were regulations in place about cats. I will have to keep this in mind and share with my friends when they think about adopting a cat!
This is really helpful. I’m sure I’ll end up having to take my cats on a long trip at some point. It’s good to be prepared.
I had no idea it was even possible to adopt a cat from another country. Who knew you were even allowed to do so-appreciate all the information about it should I ever want to–learn something new everyday!
I have adopted a few pets in my life but never from a different country. This is great info – I had no idea this was an option.
Thanks for the information! At one point, we thought we might be relocated to canada with my husbands work so I had done some research about international pet traveling.
I wouldn’t ever think to adopt a cat from another Country. I think we have so many in our own that really need the loving homes, but this is interesting to know!
It’s important to research about this if you’re planning to take your pets with you especially if you’re traveling by airplane. This is a pretty informative post and it could help a lot of pet owners!
I never have considered adopting an animal from another country. I usually adopt locally. I got 1 of our dogs from the shelter. And my other two dogs from family or friends.
This is something that I have never thought about. But, I suppose that if you wanted to adopt a cat from another country, like some exotic breed or something, you would need to know these regulations. Very informative post, thanks for sharing!
I never thought about adopting a cat from a different country since we have so many animals in need of adoption right here. Good to know.
I’ve never thought about adopting pets from another country. Thanks for the great information!
So much good information for those that are thinking about doing their adoption this way. I have never thought to adopt from anywhere other than where I am from so this is new to me.